Deep Discount Habitat - sidebar to featured article on Sublimnos

Scientists. Students. Divers. Thanks to the media the world came to seeSublimnos. In Canada almost every major news outlet from the TorontoStar to the CBC came to Tobermory. The international media came too.National Geographic Society helped fund the Sublimnos project and theirmagazine covered the story as well.“David Doubilet is notably one of the most famous National Geographicphotographers and a mentor to photographers today,” said film producerDiana Woods. “One of his first photography assignments was Sublimnosin Tobermory in 1969!”Probably the most definitive U.S. article on Sublimnos appeared in PopularMechanics Magazine (PMM) in April 1971. Back then PMM was ‘the’ voiceof innovation and invention for Americans. At the time its readership wasover 6.6 million, so the MacInnis Sublimnos Project gained high profilethroughout the English-speaking world.Entitled Bargain Basement Habitat, the story was written by DouglasHicks and informed readers how Dr. MacInnis’ project was something thatstudents and dive clubs could replicate for $2,000.00. In talking about theproject, the PMM article noted that Sublimnos:• … “is a made up word taken from the root word limnology, meaning thestudy of the physical meteorological and biological conditions of freshwater.”• … “builders decided to modify the carrier (which was built of threequarterinch/2cm steel) and then spray the inside with two inches (5cm)of foam plastic for insulation. Sparse furnishings were added and thestructure was joined to its bottom half, which is nothing but a steel cylinderfilled with 10 tons of iron ore ballast”• … “had light streaming in from the transparent dome and the fourwindows. In front of two of the windows were fold-down tables. Scatteredaround the walls were hooks for gear. Half way up the wall was a little lampon a drooping gooseneck. The humidity was so high … I could see a finemist in the air.”• …“ thermometer on the wall reported the inside temperature at 68°F(20ºC), fairly comfortable even in a wet suit. I asked the water temperature.It’s 63°F (17ºC).” (There was a heater inside that was used in the winter.)The Popular Mechanics article is available on line at http://books.google.com/books?id=qtcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA105&dq=popular+mechanics+1971+sublimnos+Hicks#v=onepage&q=&f=falseThe March 23, 1971 CBC Telescope feature on the project can be seen at:ht tp : / / a rchiv e s.cbc.c a / s cienc e_t e chnology / na tur al_s cienc e /clips/14947/DIVER Magazine is grateful to Parks Canada, Diane Woods of AquaCULTUREPictures, Inc., Doug Elsey and Aaron Szimanski for the use of photographs

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Like many other self-employed communicators in Toronto I have an exciting/active career. On one hand I am an active publicist working on many high profile projects including the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Toronto Caribbean Carnival and RBC Taylor Prize, Cundill Prize on the other, as a journalist I have one book published (The Sinking of the Mayflower) under my name and have ghost written two other books. I am the travel editor of Diver Magazine and I write travel stories, cultural stories and housing stories for a number of daily newspapers in Canada.I am a Huffington Post. For forty years I have been researching, watching and writing about the History of Diving in the Movies. In the pages of Diver Magazine and a variety of other publications, my articles have been titled Blood And Bubble movies. I have documented over 3,000 movies dating back to the 19th century that show actors/actresses diving or snorkeling on film. My website, with three Blogs and a photography section represent just four small aspects of my work. Always Busy. Never Bored. stephen@stephenweir.com.